Rogers entered this year as a potential 1st round pick at WR. But this suspension will send up character red flags all over the place. OBviously, whether or not that hurts his draft stock will depend on any other incidents that occur between now and April, as well as how he works out. Because let's face it, if he clocks a 4.41 40 and a 38-inch vertical, no one is relaly going to care whether he's "coachable" or not (see Dez Bryant).

The Amerson-Rogers matchup would have been a good one to watch week 1.

The University of Tennessee announced Thursday that All-SEC wideout Da'Rick Rogers has been suspended indefinitely. The reason for his suspension, as well as the length of the possibility of his being allowed to return to the team this season wasn't immediately made clear by the university.

Throughout much of his career, the 6-3, 215 pound Rogers played second fiddle to fellow junior Justin Hunter. However, when Hunter went down last season with a torn ACL, Rogers emerged as a dominant prospect in his own right. He led the SEC with 67 receptions last season and was second in the conference with 1,040 receiving yards, establishing himself as NFLDraftScout.com's No. 5-rated wideout in the 2014 draft class. Whether he plays with the Vols (or anywhere else this season), with three years having elapsed since his high school graduation date, Rogers will be technically eligible for the 2013 NFL draft.

Rogers' talent on the field has been obvious. Some talent evaluators have compared his natural talent to the likes of former SEC stars A.J. Green and Julio Jones. Sources close to the Tennessee program, however, have indicated that he has struggled with a "poor attitude" in the past and that this event may simply be the "culmination of several mistakes along the way." Bruce Feldman tweeted that he was surprised that Rogers was even on Tennessee's roster given the problems he's had along the way, including a "complete meltdown at UK gm that sources say COMPLETELY crossed line w UT staff."

Needless to say, character concerns have become an increasing concern with NFL teams when it comes to the draft. Last year's fall of clear top 20 talent Janoris Jenkins into the second round is just the latest indication of how seriously NFL teams take the perceived blights on a player's character grade, whether the mistakes are of the illegal nature or not.

Even without Rogers, the Volunteers boast as talented a group of wide receivers as there is in the SEC. Hunter, who looked like a potential top 10 prospect prior to his injury and has reportedly been progressing quite well in his recovery from the injury is, of course, the headliner but junior college transfer Cordarelle Patterson has also turned heads in camp. Of course, Hunter will be returning from a serious injury and Patterson hasn't yet gained the trust of the team's quarterback(s) in live game action.

As such, the loss of a talent like Rogers could have a significant impact on head coach Derek Dooley's Tennessee squad that is largely built on their offensive firepower.

The Volunteers boast one of the country's most talented quarterbacks in junior Tyler Bray, a 6-5, 210 pound junior with an absolute whip of an arm. Bray, himself struggled with injury last year but when healthy, he (and his replacements Matt Simms and Justin Worley) relied on Rogers' exciting combination of size and speed to make big plays. Rogers eclisped the 100 yard in six games for the Vols last season (one short of the school record) and looked poised to take yet another leap this year. Without Rogers, Bray's potential stock with NFL scouts could take a hit. While certainly talented in his own right (Bray is currently rated as NFLDraftScout.com's No. 4 rated QB in the 2014 class), some of his most impressive throws a season ago were intermediate and long balls in which Rogers made defenders miss to rack up extra yardage.

Rogers signed with Tennessee as a very highly regarded prep prospect, ranked as high as the No. 4 prep receiver by some recruiting experts. He only caught 11 passes as a true freshman in 2010 but demonstrated his big play ability by averaging 15.2 yards per reception and catching two touchdowns. He also was used as a runner on reverses, averaging 7.3 yards per attempt in this capacity and as a kick returner, averaging an impressive 24.8 yards per return.

Tennessee opens the season August 31 in Atlanta against North Carolina State. The loss of Rogers could be felt immediately as the Wolfpack boast NFLDraftScout.com's top-rated cornerback in the country, returning All-American David Amerson.

The official athletic website of Tennessee Tech University has announced that Da'Rick Rogers, who led the SEC last year in receptions and receiving yards and was indefinitely suspended Friday by Tennessee, will play for their Golden Eagles' football team in 2013.

Tennessee announced Friday that they were placing Rogers on indefinite suspension. Head coach Derek Dooley later provided at least one detail of the suspension -- Rogers would not play for his team in 2012.

Two days later Rogers was meeting with the Tennessee Tech staff and the university announced his transfer and immediate eligibility Monday.

"We're excited to have him and look forward to working with [Rogers]," Tennessee Tech head coach Watson Brown said. "It's a unique situation for me, but we know he's a good kid. He knows a couple of the players on our team, and we know his high school coach, and we're going on their recommendations.

"After meeting with Da'Rick and his family, I can see what everybody is saying about him," Brown added. "We've met with Da'Rick and he understands our expectations."

Rogers, who has flashed first round talent in starring for the Volunteers the past two seasons, will be eligible to play immediately. Tennessee Tech opens their season Thursday night against Hampton.

The 6-3, 215 pound Rogers caught 67 passes for 1,040 yards, each of which led the SEC. His nine touchdown receptions were second in the conference. He had six 100-yard games a season ago -- second in Tennessee history -- despite serving second fiddle to Justin Hunter early in the year prior to Hunter going down with an ACL tear against Florida.

Details as to what led to Rogers suspension from Tennessee in the first place haven't yet been released. Rogers has consistently found himself in trouble since signing with the Volunteers as a highly regarded prep prospect, however. Bruce Feldman reported that some close to the UT program had been questioned Rogers' role with the team after several run-ins with coaches, including a "meltdown" which occurred a year ago versus the Kentucky Wildcats.

Technically speaking Rogers has two years of collegiate eligibility remaining. Many suspect that he'll look to head early to the NFL following one year with the Golden Eagles. Regardless of what his numbers wind up being in 2012, Rogers has demonstrated his talent. Still, for an NFL team to consider selecting him with anything close to the first round grade his combination of size, athleticism and toughness warrant, he'll first have to convince teams that he's ready to accept the challenge of handling his responsibilities off the field... instead of running away from them.

Assuming there aren't any major red flags off the field between now and April, I'd bet Rogers will be at least a 2nd round pick, if not a late 1st round pick if the character concerns abate. Probably won't, so I'll assume he'll be in that mid 2nd range (picks #35 to #60)

Da’-da-da, Da’-da-done, at least as far as the collegiate level is concerned.

(Writer’s note: don’t worry, I groaned typing that as much or more than you did reading it. Let’s all just move on and pretend like it never happened.)

One of the most naturally-gifted wide receivers in the country, Da’Rick Rogers saw his roller coaster ride — to be kind — at Tennessee come to an official end in late August due to what the player himself later admitted was failed drug tests.

After transferring to Tennessee Tech and getting his on-field house in order, Rogers caught 61 passes for 893 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2012 for the FCS program. Not so unexpectedly, that will be Rogers’ final season at Tech as the school announced Wednesday that the receiver has decided to bypass his senior season and enter the 2013 NFL draft.

In what turned out to be his last season with the Vols in 2011, Rogers led the team in receptions (67), receiving yards (1,040) and receiving touchdowns (nine). Following that breakout year, the former five-star recruit’s future with the Vols was up in the air in early December of 2011… and still up in the air in March of this year… and indefinitely suspended in August.

How Rogers’ “uneven” past– again, to be kind — will impact his future draft status is one of the great unknowns in the player’s leap to the NFL.

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